the surprise
by susan friedman
Summary: Takes place after The Silent Promise, Season 6. Almanzo misses Laura when she hasn't shown up at his job for almost a month since he saw her wearing Daniel's ring. He wonders what happened to her and how she's doing. He is surprised when another girl invites him to dinner and he agrees to go. A one shot.


The Surprise

Almanzo sighed. He was both hot and tired. He was hot because the summer sun was beating down on him and he was tired because he was loading those heavy bags of feed all morning long without a break.

And it wasn't even lunchtime yet.

The apple Eliza Jane had given him this morning was burning a hole in his pocket. Almanzo had to load up one more sack of feed and then he'd take a break and fish that juicy apple out of his pocket. It was all he could think about as he dragged the sack over.

"There you go, Mr. Jones," Almanzo smiled as he deposited it inside the rig. "Gonna start planting that crop of yours sooner than later?"

"I sure plan to, Almanzo. The fall isn't that far off." Mr. Jones smiled. "Thanks for all your hard work." He handed Almanzo the money and drove off.

He watched until the wagon disappeared down the road and walked back to the store and took his usual seat. He heard children's laughter as they played in the school yard. He waited a bit, but no one showed up. Wait, school was out for the week, remember? Eliza had some errands to run and chores she had to do and meetings she had to schedule. He looked up, half expecting to see Laura. He scratched his head and wondered where she was. He missed her and he didn't know why. It had been almost a month since he saw her wearing Daniel's ring around her neck. That was the afternoon he lied and told her that he was happy for her. That was the day he was waiting for Sara to meet him.

She appeared at the wrong time as usual. She interrupted his private time with Beth, his Beth. He tried to make light of it when Sara was going on and on about the dangers of going out with a little girl of 15 and how he should be paying attention to girls his own age. Then they argued about it and the more they argued, the worse it got. Sara was frustrated. She told him that this whole relationship was ridiculous, that she was just wasting her time with him. After all, they had been seeing each other for a two months now and it was going nowhere. All they seemed to do was argue.

All Almanzo seemed to talk about was Laura this and Laura that and how much his sister liked her. Oh, they spoke about other things from time to time, but it was about his job and farming and horses, and well, she wasn't interested in any of it.

And Sara stormed off, tears in her eyes, as all the rest of them had.

That was almost a month ago. Sara never returned and so far there was no one he seemed interested in, except Laura. It seemed to have gotten serious with Daniel, he thought, and should have realized that.

It seemed to him that Eliza Jane was pushing for a relationship between Laura and him. All of a sudden it didn't seem to matter that all the other women had left because he constantly spoke of her. But he wasn't serious. She was just a kid, right?

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the apple. He stared at it for a while until he finally picked it up and brought it to his lips.

"Hey Alamanzo,"

The little girl's voice startled him and he dropped the apple. He turned half expecting to see Laura, but it wasn't her. It was a little girl much, much younger. Ïn fact, it was little ten year old Charity Carlton.

"Hi Charity," Almanzo said, smiling. "I suppose you're here for the usual order?"

Charity nodded. "I need two bags of feed for the cattle and chickens and two bags of seed for the crops."

Almanzo smiled. "Six o'clock?"

Char nodded her head. "Six o'clock," she confirmed. Charity turned to leave, but something made her turn around to face him again.

"Oh and my sister told me to tell you you're invited for dinner, if you want to stay. We're already having company."

Almanzo smiled. It wouldn't be the first time that Hope asked him to stay for dinner when he made those deliveries. This is the first time he only had one to make.

"You've got a deal, Charity, I'll be there."

"Thanks Almanzo. See ya later."

And he watched her run all the way toward home.

XXXXXXXX

Almanzo drove up with the four bags of feed and seed in his rig. He deposited them in a little wooden shed that he had made for them to keep them safe from vermin or theft.

Satisfied, he headed back outside and unhitched Skip and brought him into the barn. It was then he noticed the other horses. Frowning, he left the barn and headed toward the Carlton's small two room house.

As soon as he reached the front steps, he spotted Laura, Daniel and Faith, the middle sister, sitting on the tiny front porch.

Laura looked up and smiled. "Hey Manly," she said.

Almanzo felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at her. He didn't expect her to be sitting there.

Laura lost the smile and stared back. She leaned over and whispered something to Faith who just nodded. She kissed Daniel on the cheek as she stood up.

He heard her tell him that she'd be right back and watched him smile and stare up at her. Daniel held out his hand, Laura took it and they both smiled as she let go.

"Come on, Manly, let's take a walk. Supper should be done soon."

And she grabbed his hand tightly.

Almanzo let her take his hand. He shivered a bit when she did so. It felt like an electrical spark had passed between them. It wasn't the first time.

Laura led him over to the fence by the barn. There were two benches where they could sit and talk.

She let go of his hand. He was still staring at her, not sure what to say. Laura tried not to smile as she sat.

"You made these, didn't you?"

Almanzo nodded. He meant to say "Your father helped me," but the words wouldn't come. He kept staring waiting for what she had to say.

Laura stared up at him. "You know, it would be better if you sat down next to me. It might be a little easier to talk."

Almanzo nodded and did what she asked.

"Manly," she started "Daniel and I, well…" Her voice trailed off. She was having a hard time. She wasn't sure how he'd react.

"Daniel and I…"

"You don't have to tell me," Almanzo said, finding his voice. "I was wondering why you hadn't come around. Now I know."

Laura shook her head. "No. it's not like that, Manly. Daniel and I weren't meant for one another, but I have been busy teaching Faith and Daniel sign language."

Laura waited for him to say something, but nothing came.

"Faith wants to take over teaching him. It seems that they have feelings for one another. After all, Mr. Page and Hope are getting married soon and they'll all be leaving for Sleepy Eye after the wedding. It seems that the Carlton sisters came into an inheritance left by their grandmother. It's a big house, well, bigger than this one and the girls want to turn it into a hotel and restaurant. Mr. Page offered to help and is proposing to Hope tonight. "

She waited again for Almanzo to say something, but all she got was a wisp of a smile.

"Daniel and Faith will marry in due time and help out," Laura continued. "They've sold both houses."

Almanzo nodded and smiled. "I'm happy for them, Beth," he whispered, looking into her eyes. "But it must have hurt you to break it off."

"No," Laura answered, looking down at the bench. "I talked with Ma and Pa. They told me I was making a mistake and I agreed. I didn't love him. I only took the ring because I wanted to make him happy."

"But you weren't?"

Laura shook her head. "I was leading him on and that was wrong."

She looked up and found that he was already staring at her. And they sat like that a moment. No words passed between them.

"Laura, Almanzo," Hope called from the house. Dinner's ready. It's already getting cold."

"Ready?" Laura said, standing up. She held her hand out. Almanzo grabbed it and stood up.

"Yes," he said, still looking at her, "as I'll ever be."

And they walked to the house together.


End file.
